Hi Maddog and Linda, thanks for stopping by! Hope the both of you and the rest of TC had a great Thanksgiving!

MDM - On the puffer, the fin is what changed my direction. I was pinching 2 slabs together and it looked like it would be a cool looking fin, so I went in a that direction.

Linda - I don't think I've handmade anything and given it for a gift since I was in pre-school. Although it's her job , it was a great feeling to see how much my mom likes it. It was stocked full of mini Snickers at Thanksgiving and everybody was asking where she got it.

I'm anxiously awaiting my pottery plaster and casting slip so I can mess around with some mold making!

Linda - When I said waiting for my stuff to make molds, I meant, get off my lazy ass and go down to Laguna Clay (only about 15 miles away), to get the stuff. Ughhh, still lagging.

Unfortunately, there was also a mishap with the Primo Beer mug. Somebody else's piece fell in the kiln and got a bunch of other glaze chunks on mine. It doesn't seem to be a lost cause, but I won't know until I go back to the studio in a couple of days.

TikiDaye - Thanks for the kind words! I'm having a great time, so hopefully it's reflecting in my work! I just try and push my limits.

A lady who's been doing ceramics for over 20 years told me that I shouldn't try to start painting with underglazes, yet, because I won't know how they'll come out and I'll end up wasting a bunch of time screwing stuff up.

To me, if I'm not messing stuff up, I'm not pushing myself.

On another note, the Marquesan is bisque fired and the toothpick holder is glazed aqua and ready to be fired again.

Happy New Year fellow TCers!
Hope it's off to a great start and that you're enjoying your artistic endeavours!
I'm trying to dedicate myself a little more to the clay in 2012. I've finished two mugs and am almost done with a third, but, here's some pics of some older stuff.

Here's the Marquesan totem with glaze. I didn't take the time to sand some of the edges and it shows. It was also suggested that I try dabbing the edges with rubbing alcohol, to help smooth them out.

Here's my "Skywalker" Moai. The way the glaze turned out it looks kind of like the sky and stars. I'm in the process of re-doing this one with a different glaze instead of the red, to make it look like the milkyway. It's about a foot tall and has a detachable topknot lid. Here's the inspiration for the improved edition.

On the puffer fish toothpick holder, I got glaze in the toothpick holes, so you can't put toothpicks in them.

On top of the accident in the kiln with the Primo Beer mug, my mom dropped the lid. I didn't like how it turned out anyway, so it's also on my redo list.

Wow you have made a lot of new designs. When you make your mold be sure to post photos here. You asked umeone if there was anything you have forgotten. You must have mold soap or your mold sections will fuse together permanently. I've tried to post all my mistakes along the way so if you check out my latest project you can go step by step with the mold making process. Remember each mold section must be able to pull straight off your sculpt. If it can't do it when you make the mold it won't do it when you pour your work. Good luck and best wishes, Wendy
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Wow! How time flies!
I've still been messing around with the clay, just been lazy and not posting.
Anyhow, it's been an honor, an inspiration, and a great time getting to meet some of you in person, since my last post in this thread.

There were several pieces from my last ceramics class that I never fired, until about 3 weeks ago.
I sculpted this Moai during my last class about 3 months ago. Rolling the slabs and sculpting took about 2.5 hours, while the glazing, was probably 20.

Rods bod clay has a lot of iron in it, so it should show through all over the white. There's 3 layers of white and one layer of black.

I've tested with the white and know that it's not going to stand up that well to this particular clay, which is what I want. It should be gray in some spots, with the brown clay completely showing through in others, with bits of iron busting out everywhere.

I'm hoping the one layer of black will give me a light to dark brown range, depending on how much the clay shows through, with a few areas of black where I overlapped and dabbed extra glaze for some variance. I haven't tested this, so I'm going with my gut and keeping my fingers crossed.

To finish, I'm gonna dip once in super clear and there will be jute yarn tied around the chin, like the Moai in one of my previous posts.

Mike, looks great! I love the glazed designs. I really like the jute twine chin on the guy above, it adds a cool detail. Good thinking to carve a notch where the twine will go so it doesn't slip. You might want to experiment with some sort of shellac or varnish on the twine to seal it and make it more waterproof/washable?
_________________May we all get to have a chance to ride the fast one
Walk away wiser when we crashed one
Keep hoping that the best one is the last one

Hi TikiRootsRocka, I'm really enjoying your thread. I started back on page one to refresh my memory and worked forward. You make great stuff. It is also good to have met you, twice now! Wendy
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